... At the time, an impending rupture was in the air, but to many it seemed unlikely. The reality of the thirty years since the end of the Cold War—the reality of peaceful life, openness and cooperation—had become too familiar. In relations with the West, it began to wind down long before 2021.
Cracks began to appear in the late 1990s, and since 2014 the rupture has become increasingly irreversible. But as it often happens, it is difficult to believe in the possibility of big changes precisely because ...
... this isn’t all.
Essentially, the meeting, with the bureaucratic preparation and the wide public coverage it has received within Russia, testifies to a sea change in Moscow’s worldview and international positioning toward the world’s rising non-Western majority, as laid down in the recently adopted Foreign Policy Concept.
St. Petersburg was founded by Peter the Great in the early 18th century as a 'window to Europe,' and last week, it served the same purpose for Africa.
Eurocentrism, of course,...
... later, will have come full circle. Russia is not a bystander, but part of the action, pushing for change
The war in Ukraine, which to most Russians—and not just the Kremlin—is a direct, if not yet a kinetic military conflict with the American-led West, has been reshaping Russia massively from within. The economy, faced with the most severe sanctions so far imposed on any country, is not only seeking ways to go around the sanctions or substitute for the absence of Western products and technologies,...
...
The first was what we called the ‘Kremlin’s Gambit’. It is a kind of extrapolation of major trends, which were relevant to the realities of the 2000s. It implies competitive, however not hostile, relations with the outside world, including the West. At home, the ‘Kremlin’s Gambit’ is about a state-led modernisation, based on favourable commodities’ prices, centralisation of power and an ‘exchange’ of political freedoms for economic prosperity.
‘Fortress Russia’ was the second ...
... Director of the European Leadership Network, attended the event
On April 9, 2021, Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General, gave a briefing for the staff of the European Leadership Network (ELN) on topical issues of relations between Russia and the West.
During the briefing, particular attention was given to the current situation in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s position on Iran's role in the Middle East, prospects for Russia-the U.S. dialogue on strategic weapons, and the specifics of Russia’s ...
... Forecasting. A systemic approach has been taken to identify the most important areas of Russia’s foreign policy for 2018, as well as the key threats and opportunities for the country on the global arena. The geographic scope of the forecasts covers the West, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the post-Soviet states.
The authors hope that the ideas and conclusions provided in this report will be of use to the Russian authorities when making foreign policy decisions, and will come in handy for experts ...
